Alberta teacher sent to prison for having sex with student, child porn

STONY PLAIN — A former teacher who had sex with a student, collected child porn and videotaped his daughter’s pal in the shower has been put behind bars.

Brian Douglas Nickel, 45, of Edmonton, was sentenced Tuesday to three years and three months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to sexual interference, making child porn and two counts of possession of child porn.

Provincial court Judge Al Nemirsky said aggravating factors were that Nickel — a married father of two and a former junior high science and sex education teacher at a Spruce Grove school — sexually abused two minors while in a position of trust.

“He has violated the sexual integrity of child victims,” said Nemirsky.

The judge also spoke of the victim impact statements filed by the then-14-year-old student and her parents.

“It is clear … they have each suffered and continue to suffer a great deal of emotional and psychological trauma as a result of Mr. Nickel’s abuse,” said Nemirsky.

The disgraced teacher, who suffers from an addiction to child porn related to teen girls, showed no emotion as he was led away.

Nickel was banned from going alone to any public place where there are children under 16 for five years.

The Crown had sought six years and prosecutor Craig Krieger said outside court an appeal will be considered.

According to agreed facts, the 14-year-old victim was one of Nickel’s students during the 2007-2008 school year and they met several times during the summer break.

Nickel showered the teen with flattery and told her he was attracted to her and then that he was in love with her.

The pair communicated using email, instant messenger and text messages and the girl had a webcam on her computer which allowed Nickel to see her during chats.

During one chat, the girl exposed her breasts to Nickel and he recorded it on video and saved it on his computer.

In August 2008, Nickel twice picked up the teen in Spruce Grove and took her to an Edmonton park.

Police found nearly 900 explicit images of child porn and eight child porn videos on his laptop computer, including a video he secretly made using a camera hidden in a bathroom clock of a friend of his daughter’s having a shower at their Edmonton home during a sleepover.

Court also heard Nickel made a video at school during class using a camera that had been planted under his desk.